Monday, 26 April 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Copyright and Our Final Production
Any use of music in this film complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii); Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:Section 6i. Research and private studyCopying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.
· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.ii Instruction or examinationCopying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:
· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.
· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.
· The source of the material is acknowledged.
· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose.
This is the track information:
Thursday, 22 April 2010
My Evaluative Commentary
When we filmed our media production, I learned how to work the camera. It was the first time that I have used a camera to film a production, so I also had to learn how to use the tripod. I found it easy to learn, however I did feel that I could have done better, if I had have had some more practice. I really enjoyed the filming of our production, because it also gave us more time to bond as a group and get to know each other.
When editing the production parts of the soft ware were new. Adobe Premier Pro, was a completely new software to me, and I found it very complicated. I didn't do much of the editing for our group, but the parts that I did do, was just the cutting of clips. I was able to use Windows Movie Maker, as I find that it is a very simple software programme.
Our media production portrayed the ideology of a 'chick flick' well. We used 'girly' pop music from the beginning of our production which sets the scene, and allows the audience to become focused on the genre of the film. We thought that the music was the most important part through out the sequence, as it also portrays the way that many teenage girls may act in the morning - getting out of bed, getting their hair ready, and packing their school bags, with 'feel good' music on in the back ground.
We looked at other successful chick flicks before starting on ours. From this we got that the costume of the actors would be very important as different clothes hold different identities. For example; in the image below of The Devils Wears Prada, the codes and conventions would lead people to believe that the woman towards the front is more important, not just because she is dominating the image, but also because of her dress code. She is dressed in smart clothing, with a shirt and a blazer jacket, however the actress to her left is wearing more laid back clothes, that aren't necessarily smart. Most people will pick up on this instantly, whether they are fully aware of the judgements that they are making or not.
To achieve the same affect in our production, we dressed girl two (the 'posh' twin) in heels, tights, a skirt and a blazer jacket, and for girl one (the 'lesser' off twin) we dressed her in trainers and a hooded jacket. We kept these conventions going by selecting locations and props that also represented their different worlds in which they had grown up in. Using contrasting houses (as much as possible) and contrasting school books - posh school books in good condition, and school books that had been doodled all over.
I think that our production represents the idea of the contrasting lives very well, however this could have been improved, had we of been able to find a better location for the 'posher' twin. The costume and props that we used worked very well for her character, and defiantly represented the 'posher' side of life.
The target audience for our production would be young teenage girls, from about 12 - 16/17, depending on their interests. This might be the kind of girls who read magazines and are into pop music and other 'girly' things, like the colour pink and shoes. We sought to attract the attention of the audience by first using an alarm in our production. The alarm is loud, and quite startling which instantly grabs the audience, then the music kicks in with a cheesy pop tune that will instantly make the audience know that this film is all about fun, and 'girly stuff'.
I defiantly think that I learned from the preliminary exercise, and took my knowledge onto the main exercise. This was mainly with using the camera, in so much that I learned how to get better shots, and how to keep the continuity running throughout the entire clip. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the main exercise and the knowledge gained from my previous attempt defiantly helped with my confidence when filming.
When editing the production parts of the soft ware were new. Adobe Premier Pro, was a completely new software to me, and I found it very complicated. I didn't do much of the editing for our group, but the parts that I did do, was just the cutting of clips. I was able to use Windows Movie Maker, as I find that it is a very simple software programme.
Our media production portrayed the ideology of a 'chick flick' well. We used 'girly' pop music from the beginning of our production which sets the scene, and allows the audience to become focused on the genre of the film. We thought that the music was the most important part through out the sequence, as it also portrays the way that many teenage girls may act in the morning - getting out of bed, getting their hair ready, and packing their school bags, with 'feel good' music on in the back ground.
We looked at other successful chick flicks before starting on ours. From this we got that the costume of the actors would be very important as different clothes hold different identities. For example; in the image below of The Devils Wears Prada, the codes and conventions would lead people to believe that the woman towards the front is more important, not just because she is dominating the image, but also because of her dress code. She is dressed in smart clothing, with a shirt and a blazer jacket, however the actress to her left is wearing more laid back clothes, that aren't necessarily smart. Most people will pick up on this instantly, whether they are fully aware of the judgements that they are making or not.
To achieve the same affect in our production, we dressed girl two (the 'posh' twin) in heels, tights, a skirt and a blazer jacket, and for girl one (the 'lesser' off twin) we dressed her in trainers and a hooded jacket. We kept these conventions going by selecting locations and props that also represented their different worlds in which they had grown up in. Using contrasting houses (as much as possible) and contrasting school books - posh school books in good condition, and school books that had been doodled all over.I think that our production represents the idea of the contrasting lives very well, however this could have been improved, had we of been able to find a better location for the 'posher' twin. The costume and props that we used worked very well for her character, and defiantly represented the 'posher' side of life.
The target audience for our production would be young teenage girls, from about 12 - 16/17, depending on their interests. This might be the kind of girls who read magazines and are into pop music and other 'girly' things, like the colour pink and shoes. We sought to attract the attention of the audience by first using an alarm in our production. The alarm is loud, and quite startling which instantly grabs the audience, then the music kicks in with a cheesy pop tune that will instantly make the audience know that this film is all about fun, and 'girly stuff'.
I defiantly think that I learned from the preliminary exercise, and took my knowledge onto the main exercise. This was mainly with using the camera, in so much that I learned how to get better shots, and how to keep the continuity running throughout the entire clip. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the main exercise and the knowledge gained from my previous attempt defiantly helped with my confidence when filming.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Editing the Main Exercise
When editing our main exercise we managed to overcome many problems which have come up during the creation of our main exercise. The first problem that we had was when Andy chose to leave college. With Andy being our editor, this then meant that we had put the clip together ourselves, however between us, we had managed to edit our preliminary exercise when Andy was absent, so we did have some experience in the editing department. We used Windows Movie Maker when creating our preliminary exercise, however we also needed to use Adobe Pro which created further problems, as this software was new to the entire group.
This is a screen shot taken from Windows Movie Maker where we were cutting the scenes to the right size, and adding transition effects.
This a screen shot taken from Adobe Premier Pro when we were using it to complete our final production, by adding the title of our film, to the clip.
Another problem that we had, came when uploading our footage to Windows Movie Maker, on a few occasions, it was only loading the data, but not the video footage itself. This was only a minor problem, because we found that as long as we stuck to using lap tops, we were generally okay with loading our footage.
Our major problem to overcome was adding the music to our clip. We found music from a CD in our college library which fitted in with the genre of our film perfectly, however we were then told, that we would have to copyright our music, which could cost us. We were aware that we had to gather certain information about our choice of music, however Andy who has left college, still has the CD out in his name. This means that our group has to make a decision, whether or not to abandon the music all together, or find a way to get hold of the information that is needed to complete the copyright process.
This is a screen shot taken from Windows Movie Maker where we were cutting the scenes to the right size, and adding transition effects.
This a screen shot taken from Adobe Premier Pro when we were using it to complete our final production, by adding the title of our film, to the clip.
Another problem that we had, came when uploading our footage to Windows Movie Maker, on a few occasions, it was only loading the data, but not the video footage itself. This was only a minor problem, because we found that as long as we stuck to using lap tops, we were generally okay with loading our footage.
Our major problem to overcome was adding the music to our clip. We found music from a CD in our college library which fitted in with the genre of our film perfectly, however we were then told, that we would have to copyright our music, which could cost us. We were aware that we had to gather certain information about our choice of music, however Andy who has left college, still has the CD out in his name. This means that our group has to make a decision, whether or not to abandon the music all together, or find a way to get hold of the information that is needed to complete the copyright process.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Filming the Main Exercise
Our film is about two girls that are twins. The synopsis goes as such; two twin girls, who were separated at birth and bought up to live completely different lives. One girl lives a privileged life whilst the other girl lives a much less privileged life. The girls might later meet up, or find each other, but we were only creating the first two minutes of a film, so we didn't think about the rest of the plot in too much detail.
When we filmed at the main exercise I faced a few problems. The main problems came when setting up the tripod, especially at out first location. It was much more difficult to film inside someones home, than in a classroom, (like where we filmed our preliminary exercise). I faced problems such as setting the camera up in a narrow hallway to film our actress walking down the stairs. We had to over come this problem, as this shot held a very important meaning in our clip. The shot of the 'posh' twin (girl two) walking down the stairs in heels was put in the opening trailer, to represent the wealth that girl two held over girl one (the 'poor' twin). In a later shot, we show girl one walking down the stairs in trainers this contrasts to the first shot of girl two. We did manage to over come the problem and get the shot, however, you couldn't really see that girl two was in fact wearing heels. This was a problem that wasn't taken into account fully, until we began putting out production together.
This is how the shot was supposed to look, however when filming we took the shot from the side, looking at herfrom behing when she walked down the stairs.
Another problems with the tripod was trying to fit it in a dining room, around the table and chairs. Once I had set the tripod up, it was okay, and we got the right shots, however, it was difficult for me to get behind the camera and actually shoot it, getting the zooms and tracking correct for the shot. This problem was common in shooting in the bedrooms also, as they were quite small rooms. I felt that I would be held to blame if the shots weren't right, yet I wasn't really given very space efficient locations to film in.
In the end I think the filming went well. We got all the shots we needed to make our clip, and we stuck to the script and storyboard really well. I felt that I had full control of the camera, and was allowed more freedom by the rest of my group. This allowed me to be slightly more creative with the shots, and give more of my personal opinion when filming.
One thing that we did do to help us when filming our production was to keep count of how many shots we took of each scene. This made it easier for us when we had uploaded the video footage onto Windows Movie Maker. We had to take our shots in different a different order to the order that the scenes would eventually go in. This meant that wehen filming we had to muddle of shots, in order to keep the continuity running through out the entire clip. To check that we had filmed all the scenes we numbered them as we went along, so before filming at the second location we already know how to go about getting all our shots without getting confused about what we had and had not filmed.
When we filmed at the main exercise I faced a few problems. The main problems came when setting up the tripod, especially at out first location. It was much more difficult to film inside someones home, than in a classroom, (like where we filmed our preliminary exercise). I faced problems such as setting the camera up in a narrow hallway to film our actress walking down the stairs. We had to over come this problem, as this shot held a very important meaning in our clip. The shot of the 'posh' twin (girl two) walking down the stairs in heels was put in the opening trailer, to represent the wealth that girl two held over girl one (the 'poor' twin). In a later shot, we show girl one walking down the stairs in trainers this contrasts to the first shot of girl two. We did manage to over come the problem and get the shot, however, you couldn't really see that girl two was in fact wearing heels. This was a problem that wasn't taken into account fully, until we began putting out production together.
This is how the shot was supposed to look, however when filming we took the shot from the side, looking at herfrom behing when she walked down the stairs.
Another problems with the tripod was trying to fit it in a dining room, around the table and chairs. Once I had set the tripod up, it was okay, and we got the right shots, however, it was difficult for me to get behind the camera and actually shoot it, getting the zooms and tracking correct for the shot. This problem was common in shooting in the bedrooms also, as they were quite small rooms. I felt that I would be held to blame if the shots weren't right, yet I wasn't really given very space efficient locations to film in.
In the end I think the filming went well. We got all the shots we needed to make our clip, and we stuck to the script and storyboard really well. I felt that I had full control of the camera, and was allowed more freedom by the rest of my group. This allowed me to be slightly more creative with the shots, and give more of my personal opinion when filming.
One thing that we did do to help us when filming our production was to keep count of how many shots we took of each scene. This made it easier for us when we had uploaded the video footage onto Windows Movie Maker. We had to take our shots in different a different order to the order that the scenes would eventually go in. This meant that wehen filming we had to muddle of shots, in order to keep the continuity running through out the entire clip. To check that we had filmed all the scenes we numbered them as we went along, so before filming at the second location we already know how to go about getting all our shots without getting confused about what we had and had not filmed.
Here is an example of we kept count of our shots that we had taken.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Main Exercise Updated
We have now filmed out entire production, and it's gone really well. We filmed at two locations on two different dates, differing by a week. Finding places to film wasn't very difficult, because as it turned out, Sarah and I both had houses that were perfect for out production. I took on the role of camera woman again in this production, and I found that it went much better then when we filmed our preliminary exercise. I thought that my zoom and my panning were a lot smoother, than when I filmed for the first time. With regards to out paperwork, we have managed to produce a strong final script and a good storyboard, however we need to develop our research further and expand on our original notes. When we filmed at our second location Andy wasn't present, however this didn't cause too much of a problem. The problem that we have faced, has been when we've gone to edit. This is because Andy supposed to be the editor of our production, however he has missed a few of the lessons and so we've had to edit our production without him. This hasn't been too difficult as between us we know how to use Windows Movie Maker, however next lesson we are intending to use Adobe Pro to add a couple of titles to our production. We have completed location recees for our first location, however we are yet to of produced our second location, location recees.
When it came to filming at the second location, I defiantly felt that I did a better job than when filming the preliminary exercise. I felt that I had more control over the camera. I also felt that the rest of my group allowed me to have more control, thus meaning I could learn from my own mistakes, and film the shots that I felt would work well with our production. We are now having major problems pulling together our production and cutting the the clip perfectly and adding titles. This is because Andy has been absent a lot recently, and he is supposed to be the main editor of our media piece. Between the rest of the group and I we have tried our best to make the publication good, however we lack the knowledge of being able to use Adobe Pro to do the finishing touches.
I need to get the photographs of my house to put in for the second location, and then our folder should be complete. This is good as it shows that we have worked consistently and kept track of all of our decisions, and planning.
When it came to filming at the second location, I defiantly felt that I did a better job than when filming the preliminary exercise. I felt that I had more control over the camera. I also felt that the rest of my group allowed me to have more control, thus meaning I could learn from my own mistakes, and film the shots that I felt would work well with our production. We are now having major problems pulling together our production and cutting the the clip perfectly and adding titles. This is because Andy has been absent a lot recently, and he is supposed to be the main editor of our media piece. Between the rest of the group and I we have tried our best to make the publication good, however we lack the knowledge of being able to use Adobe Pro to do the finishing touches.
I need to get the photographs of my house to put in for the second location, and then our folder should be complete. This is good as it shows that we have worked consistently and kept track of all of our decisions, and planning.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Main Excersise
I had been really looking forward to creating the main excersise. So far we are doing really well. We have found one location, and done location recees. We are still working well as a group, and have made very good progress so far. Andy was incharge of the research into our audience. He lost the first piece of research due the computering system at college, so therefore he had to start again. Our opening sequence is the opening qequence to a 'chick flick' film. We looked at the opening squences to films like, 'Legally Blonde', 'The Princess Diaries' 'The lizzie McGuire Movie' and 'The Devil Wears Prada' and 'New York Minute' (shown below).
These films vary in the target age of the audience, for example: 'The Devil Wears Parda' has an older audeince than 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'.
These films vary in the target age of the audience, for example: 'The Devil Wears Parda' has an older audeince than 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie'.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Evaluation of the preliminary exercise
With the preliminary exercise I didn't feel as though I'd put much thought into the research material. The research was mainly done by Andy, but this time round I would like to take a more active part and help out with the research. This is because I feel that I could be quite good at the research, as it is something that I have done quite a lot in the past. I mainly created the storyboard for the preliminary exercise, but I would like to help more with the script in the main exercise. I think I would be good at the script writing as I am an English Language student, and therefore I have done script writing before. I felt that I didn't do a particularly good job when filming. This was because I hadn't much experience with a camera, and therefore I didn't really know how to get all the right shots to make a good clip. Lee taught me how about steady cam, and how to hold the camera without using a tripod. I also had trouble getting the continuity right within the clip. This again was part of my lack of knowledge about how to film. I did feel that I did a good job for my first attempt, but would like to do something else when it comes to the main exercise.
With the post production, I found myself doing a lot of the editing. This was because Andy was absent through most of the lessons and I was the only one who really understood how to use Windows Movie Maker. I wouldn't mind being the editor for the main exercise, even though it would be more difficult. I just feel that I would be good at cutting the clips, and making the continuity work. Finding the sound clip needed for the preliminary exercise was quite easy, however we know that it is going to be a lot more difficult with the main exercise, because we are looking at using a song, and we need to make sure it's not copyrighted.
This is our finished project:
With the post production, I found myself doing a lot of the editing. This was because Andy was absent through most of the lessons and I was the only one who really understood how to use Windows Movie Maker. I wouldn't mind being the editor for the main exercise, even though it would be more difficult. I just feel that I would be good at cutting the clips, and making the continuity work. Finding the sound clip needed for the preliminary exercise was quite easy, however we know that it is going to be a lot more difficult with the main exercise, because we are looking at using a song, and we need to make sure it's not copyrighted.
The final clip for our preliminary exercise worked really well, but could of been better in many different ways. I know what I need to focus more on, next time, and I can take on the knowledge gained from this piece.
This is our finished project:
Monday, 1 February 2010
Filming and Editing the Preliminary Exercise
I felt that I didn't really help with the research as much as I should have done. I helped more with the script and the story board than I did with the researching. I also did the final call sheets from the pre-production, but they were left till last minute, as we were unaware that they had not been fully completed. I think that I would be strongest at writing the script when it comes to the main exercise. This is because I believe I am a strong English language student, and therefore I could use my strongest ability to it's full. The day we filmed our coursework (1st February) one of our group members were absent, due to illness. Also one of the actors pulled out last minute, due to personal issues, so we had to find someone else to step in. This wasn't too much of a problem, and our production ended up working really well. However we now know for the main excersise we need to find actors/actresses who will be commited to helping us, and who will turn up ion the day, because otherwise this could cause problems within our continuity, and we could really lose out on marks. When filming our coursework, I found it very difficult to begin with. This is because of the lack of knowledge I had when it came to getting the right shots and angles. It took me a while to learn how to make the tripod suit th situation, for examaple being eye line, but Sarah Blues (a group member) helped me a lot with this. I found it really usefull, and I really approciated how patient she was with me. I managed to follow the 180 degree rule well, when it came to the conversation, my main problem was getting the zoom at the right speeds and angles. It took a few different shots before I finially firgured out the nack to getting it right. Towards the end of the production I had defiantly improved and I became much more relaxed in the situation. We stuck to our plan, and all the shots stayed the same as our original ideas, and the same thing happened with our script. I ended up really enjoying the whole filming process. There was one slight problem within our filming that we were unable to find a clock. The clock was to of been quite a major aspect of our clip as it showed time, and it represented the setting. This means that we had to find a clock at a later day and edit it in. On Tuesday 2nd Februray we began the editing of our clip. The member in our group who is in charge of editing, was absent that day, so we decided to make a start and picking out the clips, as we didn't want to be wasting any time. Watching our footage back was, good because I got to see where I'd made mistakes and how I could of improved that particular shot to of been able to create a better effect. When we began editing, a few problems occurred, for one, the member of our group in charge of editing has been off ill, and so between us, me and the rest of the group have made all the decisions. When editing we found that the continuity wasn't quite as good as what we had expected it to be. We had problems making the cuts fit into each other, so that people had not moved around the screen. We also found that our actors were to close to the edge of the screen. This could cause a problem if the clip was viewed on TV, as it could cut them out of the frame all together. This did mean that we learnt how to go about filing for next, because I learnt that there is an inside frame that I should of attempted to keep to. When I took footage of the clock it wasn't very affective. This is because I was unable to hold the camera still and I was also holding the camera slightly wonky (at a dodgy angle). My lecturer, Lee then showed me how to use 'steady cam'. This involves the positioning of the camera in your hand, and holding it so that it rests against you. This means I can now take my new knowledge onto the main exercise, for if I end up filming again, or so that I can pass on my knowledge to someone else.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
First skills audit for the G321 Foundation Production
When informed about the coursework I was quite happy with the task at hand. I felt that I had grasped the idea of the coursework and that I would be able to perform strongly, producing a strong piece of work. I think that the initial skills and planning that was done by the group, went well. We made a group decision about our preliminary exercise quickly, and this allowed to jump straight in and begin planning where to film, and how to go about it. The research our group has done, is strong and backs up our ideas well. This has given us a strong idea of the exact audience that would watch the programme from which our 'clip' has come from. I think that my skills vary dependent upon which section of the preliminary task am asked to focus on. I personally felt that writing the script would be my strongest point, as I am an English Language student, and therefore I have experience in this particular area. However it was decided by the group that my main focus should be on camera work, thus allowing me to attempt something new. Seen as I am yet to of filmed our production, I haven't faced any major problems yet, although I am slightly worried about what to do when it comes to filming. I have never filmed an official production, and so it will be an almost entirely new experience. This means I will have to learn how to go about filming the right angles and getting all the correct shots that are needed to get the right effects. To ensure that I am able to for fill the criteria on the set task I will ask for advice from my group members, as I know that one group member has camera work experience and therefore can pass on his knowledge to me. This will help me and prepare me better for the main exercise. So far there have been no major problems within our group, all members have attended the majority of the lessons, and we are all focused, and know exactly what's going on. This has made the pre-production easier going on ourselfs, meaning that we can all focus on the task at hand. I feel that so far our group is doing very well. I think that when it comes to filming our production, the knowledge that I will gain from group members will help me a lot in producing a strong piece of coursework.
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